The thrilling full trailer for Predator: Badlands has just dropped (via SFFGazette.com) ahead of the movie's panel at this weekend's San Diego Comic-Con.
The action-packed preview reveals much more about what we can expect from what looks to be a unique team-up, as a Weyland-Yutani android, Elle Fanning's Thia, is paired up with Dek, a young Yautja looking to prove himself on a planet inhabited by some pretty gnarly-looking monsters.
After Predator: Killer of Killers gave these iconic aliens the chance to speak and reveal more about their culture, it appears we can expect Dek to communicate with his unexpected ally (who is carried on Dek's back, Yoda-style, at one point). It doesn't appear this Predator is looking for an ally, though.
The latest Predator: Badlands trailer also doesn't shy away from including some Alien references, and it definitely feels like this could be a stepping stone to another Alien vs. Predator project somewhere down the line. If nothing else, the two worlds are now fully connected.
Filmmaker Dan Trachtenberg previously described Dek as the "runt of the litter," adding, "He’s a thing of few words, pretty blunt. He cuts straight to the point. Literally and figuratively."
Addressing Fanning's role as a Weyland-Yutani android (she'll also play a second, mystery character), he said, "I always wanted no humans in this movie, so I thought it might be fun to have the Predator with a robot. Then I thought, ‘I know a company that makes robots."
Together, he says Dek and Thia will make for a "fun, mismatched pairing. One talkative, one laconic. As exciting and violent as this movie is, the character stuff really pops, too."
"After Prey, I had three ideas," Trachtenberg added. "One was Killer Of Killers, one was Badlands and one...I haven’t done yet. So, there are other awesome ideas and time periods it’d be exciting to explore, and all that’s been part of our discussion for [what’s next]."
The movie, which stars Elle Fanning and Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi, is set in the future on a remote planet, where a young Predator (Schuster-Koloamatangi), outcast from his clan, finds an unlikely ally in Thia (Fanning) and embarks on a treacherous journey in search of the ultimate adversary.
Dan Trachtenberg directs and produces Predator: Badlands alongside John Davis, Marc Toberoff, Ben Rosenblatt, and Brent O’Connor.
Predator: Badlands opens exclusively in movie theaters on November 7 in IMAX, Dolby Cinema, Cinemark XD, 4DX, ScreenX, and premium screens everywhere.